Seattle Makes Room for 'The Room'

Posted on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 9:45am

The Citizen Kane of bad movies returns--with its mysterious creator.

About a year ago, I wondered why Seattle hadn't played host to The Room, a movie so comically dreadful that one person in academia has dubbed it "the Citizen Kane of bad movies." Shortly afterward, the film made had at least two screenings here, but this week it gets even better: Tommy Wiseau, the mysterious auteur of the piece, will be in Seattle for three appearances. He will be at the Egyptian Theatre (805 E Pine St.) for Q&A sessions during midnight screenings Friday (Aug. 20) and Saturday (Aug. 21). Tickets are $15. He also will attend a VIP reception at Central Cinema (1411 21st Ave.) at 9 p.m. Saturday. The $60 ticket includes food and drink, a ticket to Saturday's midnight screening at the Egyptian, and "an intimate Q&A" with Wiseau.

In some cities, watching The Room has become a participatory event akin to screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with theater patrons dressing up, reciting dialogue and mocking the film's amateurish production quality.

Wiseau, who doesn't like to reveal much about himself, stars in the film as Johnny, the loser in a love triangle involving his fiancee and his best friend. The film was originally released in 2003 with no comic aspirations. But now Wiseau happily markets it as a "black comedy" and makes appearances whenever he can. Here's the trailer.